The Arrangement
by Totally Team Derek Hale
Summary: Ava, an 18 year old girl from La Push, Washington has had a normal life... if you count being a as shapeshifter normal. She has friends, family and a 5 year old niece that she loves and adores. What happens when she finds out that her parents arrange for her to be married? And said groom is the Alpha werewolf of Beacon Hills? All this and more :) R&R PLEASE!
1. Chapter 1

I'm getting WHAT!?" I shouted, standing abruptly form my seat. I was completely shocked and devastated. I couldn't believe this was happening.

"You're getting married Ava. It's been arranged," my dad said calmly. He stood up from the couch where he and my mother sat and walked over to me. He reached out to touch me but I smacked his hand away.

"Arranged? Are you serious? So what have you planned out my whole life? Do you know when my funeral is going to be?" I was starting to go on a complete rant.

"Now Ava that is no way to talk to your father," my mother interjected. "You are going to marry this boy and that is final!"

"I don't like this," I said. "Not one bit… I feel like my choice has been taken away from me. And I'm pretty sure this guy feels the same way too."

"He's not happy about it. He said that he would rather be alone but he doesn't want to go against his parents' wishes. He knew about this way before you did. His parents sat him down and told him about six years ago; just weeks before they were killed in a house fire."

I sighed in defeat and sat down. My dad sat down beside me and put an arm around my shoulders.

"Is he… different like me and the pack? Is he a…"

"Well that was another thing that we wanted to talk to you about dear," mom said cutting me off. "The difference between you and him is that he is not a shifter like you are. He's an actual werewolf."

"Really?" I asked. "Like full moon, silver bullet, all that stuff?"

"Yes, Ava. He is a lycan."

"So you set me up with a lycan." I stated. I shook my head and sighed. I heard a knock on the door and got up to go see who it was.

"Please be Ashton Kutcher!" I shouted as I walked to the door. I heard a laugh and immediately smiled. Once I was at the door, I opened it.

"Sadly for you, I'm not Ashton Kutcher but I hope that I might be better."

"Hey Jacob," I said. I let him in and he wrapped his arms around me.

"Hey Ava," he said back, letting me go.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to pick you up. Emily invited the pack for dinner so, here I am."

"Let me go tell my parents that I'm leaving and I'll be right back."

He nodded and waited near the door. I walked back to the living room and saw my parents sitting on the couch. When they were aware of my presence they looked up at me.

"Is it okay if I went to Emily and Sam's for dinner?"

"We're not finished with our conversation Ava," dad said standing from the couch.

"Well I am," I said. "At least for now okay? When I get back, we can finish talking for as long as you want. I promise."

They looked at each other and then looked back at me.

"Alright, you can go," mom said. "But be back by a decent hour."

"Thanks, I'll make sure of it." I turned to leave and walked to where Jacob was.

"You ready to go?" he asked looking concerned.

"Yeah, let's go."

"Ava wait," I heard behind me. I turned around and saw my mom walking toward me. Once she got to me, she wrapped her arms around me and hugged me as tight as she could.

"I love you sweetheart." I hugged her back just as tight but was conscious of the fact that I was stronger than her so I eased up a bit.

"I love you too mom." She let go and kissed me on the cheek.

"Jacob, take care of my baby," she said sternly while walking over to hug him."

"Don't worry Mrs. Wolf, she'll be safe with me," he said.

"Can we go now?" I asked. I was itching to get out of this tension filled house.

"Yeah came on," Jacob said leading me towards the door. Once I was outside, I felt like I could breathe again. The tension in that house was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

"What was that about?" Jake asked.

"Don't worry," I said. "I'll tell you all about it when we get to Emily and Sam's."

Jake looked at me one more time and we started to walk to the car. We got in and drove in silence. It was somewhat comfortable but it was because I could tell that Jacob was dying to know what was going on.

How was I supposed to tell him that I was getting married? I mean he's been my best friend since birth and I could only imagine what he would think. But then I think about the rest of the pack and how they'll react to the news, especially Leah. Since I've been in the pack we have grown to be extremely close, mostly because we both know the feeling of having someone you love just up and leave you for someone else, and to add insult to injury, it was someone you thought that you could trust and you thought that not in a million years would this person betray you. The only difference between Leah and I, is that I haven't spent all of my time since then hating the people who hurt me and broke my heart. Micah – the one who broke my heart – was a big part of my life and when he left it was like my life was gone. He betrayed me and told me that I wasn't what he wanted in a soul mate and I would never be good enough for him, but my friend Nicole was. I thought that I could trust her and she stabbed me in the back, basically saying 'you snooze, you lose.' I was broken up about it, but after almost two months of moping and being the zombie that I was, I picked myself up and moved on. I think about it from time to time, sometimes I cry about it, but then I stop and tell myself not to dwell in the past and that better things were waiting for me in the future. But I never imagined this.

"We're here," Jake said, bringing me out of my thoughts. I looked up and saw that we were in front of the small cabin. I could see big figures moving in the windows. Suddenly it became real for me; I was going to have to tell them that I was getting married. I internally started to panic but I didn't let it show.

"Ava are you sure you're alright?" he asked. "Because you are freaking me out."

"Jacob I'm fine stop worrying," I said. "I promise that I will tell you and everyone else what's going on soon okay?"

He looked at me hesitantly and sighed. "Okay."

"Alright then let's go." I got out of the car and I walked towards the house with Jacob on my heels. We got to the front door and I knocked. The door opened and I was greeted be Embry.

"Bout time you two got here," he said. "Emily said we couldn't eat until everyone was here and I'm starving."

"Well hello to you too," I said as we walked in and hung our jackets on the rack that was at the door.

"Sorry. Hi Ava, hi Jacob. Would you two please sit down so I can eat? I am a growing boy you know."

"Embry be nice," Emily said emerging from the kitchen. She looked at us and smiled.

"Hi Emily," I said hugging her. I pulled away and she was glowing. Even with the jagged scars on her face, she still looked beautiful.

"Hey Ava," she said resting a hand on her belly. Emily was 5 months pregnant with twins. Both she and Sam were excited. I bent down and out a hand on her small bump.

"Hi babies," I cooed. In return I felt a small kick from one of them as if getting a greeting from them. I smiled and removed my hand from Emily's stomach and stood up right. Emily playfully swatted me away, laughing as she greeted Jacob with a hug.

"Hey it's not my fault they like me," I said. "I mean come on, who wouldn't?"

"Hmm let's see," I heard from behind me. I felt an arm wrap around my shoulder and looked up and saw Jared with a face that made him look like he was thinking. "Our teachers, our principal, that lady in the library who always gives us a hard time for talking every time we go in…"

"Okay, okay I get it; there are people who don't like me. But they're irrelevant so why should I care; I'm a very likeable person."

Jared removed his arm from my shoulders.

"Yes Ava you are a likeable person."

"Thank you Jared."

After Jake and I greeted the rest of the pack, Emily said that dinner was ready. The boys cheered while Leah, Emily, and I shook our heads and laughed as we watched the boys race towards the buffet and pile the food on their plates like mountains. When the coast was clear we went to the buffet and made our plates and sat at the table. I sat between Jacob and Quil, Emily sat next to Sam, and Leah sat beside Paul. We ate and talked, having laughs and basically just being a family. Whenever one of us talked with our mouths full, Emily would glare playfully and tell us to mind our manners or watch our language. She was like a second mother to me and the rest of the pack were my brothers and sister, they were my family. It was gonna be hard to tell them the news. I didn't know how they were going to react to the news. Would they be mad at me? Would they hate me? I couldn't stand the thought of that happening. It just hurt too much. I could feel myself getting emotional but I don't think anyone noticed. I had to get out of here before they did.

"Excuse me," I said getting up from my chair and started to walk toward the door.

"Where are you going?" I heard Embry ask. I turned around and looked at all of the curious faces, especially Leah and Jacob's.

"I'm just going to get some air," I said, my voice cracking a bit. Okay now I really needed to get out of here. I rushed to the door hearing everyone calling my name. I ran to the tree line, hearing them run out of the house, shouting for me to come back. I ran as fast as my legs could take me, trying to drown out the sounds but I knew that with my super hearing abilities that it seemed almost impossible. I didn't stop until I broke out of the trees and stopped at a cliff that looked over the waves of the ocean. I sat down and watched as the waved lapped up against the rocks.

I was trying to find some peace with myself before I could go back and face them. I sat there for a while before I finally let the tears fall down my face. All of the questions that I wanted to ask started to for in my head. How could my parents do this to me? Did they want me to be miserable? Who was this man that I was supposed to marry? Would he hurt me and keep me away from my family and friends? Where did he live? And the biggest question of all…

Why was like being so unfair to me?

I sat there for another 10 minutes until I heard some rustling in the trees. I looked to my right and sniffed the air. I sighed.

_Paul_

"Come on out," I said. "There's no need to hide."

There was more rustling and eventually Paul came out in nothing but a pair of cut offs. He has this look of concern on his face. He sat down next to me and watched the waves with me.

"What the hell was that back there?" he asked, looking at me.

"I got scared," I answered truthfully, more tears streaming down my face.

"Sacred of what sis?" he asked giving me a one armed hug.

"Telling you guys about a little arrangement that my parents set up."

"Ava whatever it is, I'm sure it can't be that bad."

"I'm getting married, Paul."

"What?"

"And you said it wasn't that bad," I chuckled humorlessly.

He stood and held his hand out to me. I took it and he pulled me up.

"Let's go back," he said. I nodded and we walked through the forest and back to the house. With our speed, we were at the house within a few minutes.

When we got there I saw the pack sitting in front of the house with worried faces. They all looked up and saw us walking toward them and visibly relaxed. Once I got to them, Jacob ran to me and pulled me into a giant hug.

"Ava, thank God!" he said. I don't know what happened but I just broke down in his arms. I started to sob and he rubbed my back soothingly.

"Shh it's okay. Don't cry."

"It's not okay Jake," I sobbed, my words were muffled due to the fact that my face was planted into Jacob's chest. "It is far from okay."

He pulled away from me and gave me a confused look.

"What are you talking about Ava?"

"Can we go back inside?" I asked. "I already told Paul and I wanna have to say it 3 times."

Jake nodded and led me back to the house. When we got to the front of the house, the rest of the pack hugged me and led me inside. Once in there, we walked into the living room. We took up and available space that we could find. I sat between Jacob and Leah. Leah took my hand and squeezed it. I gave her a sad smile and squeezed back.

"Ava, tell us what happened," Leah said calmly. I couldn't look at her, or anyone else for that matter, so I looked at my lap.

"Avie, please look at me," she begged. I slowly lifted my head up and looked at her. Her face was laced with worry.

"My parents…"

"Your parents what sweetie," Emily asked. I looked at her with sad eyes. She gave me a smile that said everything was okay and that I could say what I had to.

"My parents arranged for me to…for me to get married.

The room was quite for a while and I was afraid of what everyone would say. The anxiety was starting to kill me.

"So you're telling us that your parents set you up with a person that you don't even know?" Jacob asked. O looked at him and could see the shock and anger on his face.

"Yeah," I responded.

"Can't you get out of it or something?" Quil asked.

I shook my head. "Unfortunately I can't. If I had it my way I wouldn't marry this guy."

"This is such bullshit!" Jake shouted. "You don't even get a choice!"

"Tell me about it. This whole situation sucks."

"Do you know what tribe he's from?" Sam asked.

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you the most fucked up part," I started. "He's not even like us."

"So he's human," Seth said confused.

"He is far from human," I said. "He's a lycan."

"A what?" Leah asked.

"A werewolf," I confirmed. "And not like us, we turn into wolves but he's the real deal like the ones you see in the movies. Full moon wolfs bane, silver bullets all that crap."

"How is that even possible?" Jacob asked. "For a shifter to be with a werewolf. Has it ever been done before?"

"I guess it might have because my parents are setting me up with one so it might work."

"Do you know anything about this man?" Sam asked.

"All I know is that his family was killed in a house fire about 6 years ago."

Before anyone could say anything else, my iPhone rang. I took it out of my pocket and answered.

"Hello?"

"Ava I need you to get home so we can finish talking." It was my mom.

I sighed. "Fine," I said.

"Don't use that tone with me Ava get back here!"

I hung up.

When I looked up I saw everyone looking at me. I'm pretty sure they heard what my mom had said.

"I gotta go," I said standing. "Bye guys."

They all stood up one by one and they put their arms around me, forming a group hug. They all let go and I walked to the door with Jacob right behind me.

We walked out of the door and towards the car. I opened the door and got in. Jacob got in the car and started it. We pulled out of the driveway and drove off.

We sat in uncomfortable silence for a couple of moments until he looked between me and the road.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I don't know," I said. "Sad, angry, confused. I don't want to marry some guy whom I've never met before. I want to be able to make my own choices. And what if I imprint on someone? What then?"

Jacob sighed and gripped the stirring wheel so tight that his knuckles were turning white. After about 5 minutes, we were at my house. Jake cut the engine and looked at me.

"I wish that I could give you the answers," he finally said. "But I can't. Unfortunately you can't get out of this and there's nothing that neither you nor I can do about it."

I nodded. He was right; it was out of our hands. There wasn't anything that I could do about it.

"I fell like this is just a bad dream," I said. "And at any moment I'll wake up and my life will be normal again."

Jake chuckled darkly. "Ava there was never anything normal about your life."

I shrugged. "Okay well aside from me changing into a big white fur ball."

We sat there for another 5 minutes.

"I don't want to go back in there," I whined, looking at the house. The house that I grew up in and have had so many good and bad memories. Now it's the house that I don't want to go into because I was dreading any and all confrontation when it comes to this subject.

"You're gonna have to," Jake said looking at me with empathy.

"Will you walk me to the door?"

"Of course."

I got out of the car, closed the door and waited as Jacob got out and closed his door. He walked to me, put an arm around me shoulder and walked me to the door. When we got there, I pulled his arm off of me and looked at him.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked.

"I don't know," I said. "But if not, I'll call you."

"Okay." With that, he hugged me tight and I hugged him back.

"Bye Jake," I said, hoping that it wasn't the last time I'd ever see him.

"Bye Avie." He kissed the top of my head and let me go.

I unlocked the door and walked in, then closed the door and leaned on it.

"Ava, is that you?" I heard my mom call out.

"Yes," I sighed.

"Well come on in so we can finish talking."

I sighed and made my way into the living room and sat on the couch across from my parents.

"Now, Ava I know that you're having a hard time accepting the news," my dad started.

"A hard time is right," I muttered.

"Ava please," mom hissed. "Listen to your father."

I sighed and motioned for him to continue.

"The Hales have been friends of our family for years. When you were born, he was just a couple years old and as children, you became fond of each other. Six years ago his parents got suspicious of this girl that he was dating; they thought that she might have been a threat to their family. He at one point told them that he thought that she might be the one. They said that they would do anything to keep from marrying that girl. So your mother and I offered for you to marry him when the time was right and they said yes. And you already know how he feels."

"Yeah, you said that he'd rather be alone but he's gonna do it out of respect for his parents."

Did they have no idea how ridiculous that sounded? That the man that I am supposed to marry is only marrying me because it was what his parents wanted.

"This man knows nothing about me," I said. "Nothing at all and you want me to marry him? That is so sick!"

"Ava sweetie," mom said. "It's for the best. We only had your best interest at heart."

"Yeah right." I looked at her and saw the pain written on her face and my anger simmered down a bit. I sighed.

"What's his name?" I asked softly.

"His name is Derek Hale," dad said.

"How old is he and where does he live?"

"He's 20 and he live in Beacon Hills, California," mom said.

"California?" I shouted. "So you're just gonna send me to another state? Mom, dad, please don't make me do this! Please!"

"Ava Mackenzie Wolf, you will stop acting like a child and face your responsibilities!" dad shouted standing up and looking down at me with an intimidating glare. I stood challenging him.

"Responsibilities?" I shouted. "It is not my responsibility to marry a man whom not only do I know nothing about but he lives in another state! I won't do this!"

Then he slapped me. It didn't hurt but I couldn't help the tears forming in my eyes as I looked at my father in shock. I backed away from him for I was too shocked and angry to utter anything to him or my mother. I turned around and ran towards the front door.

"Ava wait," mom called. I heard them but I didn't turn around. I ran out of the house and into the forest. I was trembling so much and I knew that I was about to phase. I couldn't calm myself down enough to stop trembling. Just then I burst out of my skin, all of my clothes were confetti. As soon as my paws touched the forest floor, I started to run. I let out

a pained howl as I ran towards Jacob's house. I couldn't deal with this, not now. I needed my best friend. I needed Jacob.

* * *

**Hey guys! So this was the crossover that I was talking about when I posted a chapter for another story quite some time ago. this is my very first crossover and I kind of had the idea of an arranged marriage and I was playing around with some characters and I decided to make up one of my one, just because I could. So I really like this story and I think that it might have some potential. And I know that I say that with most of my stories but I really like this one lol. **

**So tell me what you think; I'd really love some feedback and constructive criticism.**

**Thank you for reading :)**

**TTDH**


	2. Chapter 2

After a few minutes of running, I felt someone phase.

"_Ava?"_

"_Hey Seth."_

"_What happened?"_ he asked.

I showed him everything that happened at the house.

"_Oh I'm so sorry, Ava,"_ he whined.

"_It's okay Seth,"_ I told him. I saw that I was coming close to Jacob's house and I decided to warn Seth that I was going to phase soon.

"_Hey Seth, I'm almost at Jacob's I'm gonna phase back now."_

"_Okay Ava,"_ he said cheerfully. _"I hope you feel better."_

"_Thanks Seth,"_ I said and the phased back to my human form. I poked my head out from the trees to see if anyone was outside. Once I figured the coast was clear, I stepped out of the woods covering myself as much as I could, padding my way towards the backyard where Jacob's bedroom window was.

When I got there I saw that there were no lights on, so he must have been sleep. I walked up to the window and knocked on it softly. I heard Jake grunt and saw him stir in the bed. I knocked o little louder but not too loud so I wouldn't wake up Billy.

Jake opened his eyes and looked at me. I smiled and waved awkwardly. He sat up and slid the window open.

"Ava what are you doing?"

"Oh, just hanging out," I said sarcastically.

"Are you naked?"

"Yeah, I'm starting a new trend; its call the birthday suit."

"Ava…"

I sighed. "I can't stay in that house," I said, all sarcasm gone. "Not tonight."

Jake nodded and got out of his bed, made his way to his dresser and pulled out a shirt and a pair of shorts. He came back to the window and handed me the clothes and I put them on quickly. He stretched his hand out of the window and I grabbed it. He pulled me up as I used my other hand to push up on the window sill.

"Jesus Jake," I said. "You'd think that with supernatural strength, you'd be able to pull a girl half you size through you bedroom window."

"Oh yeah?" he taunted.

"Yeah."

He yanked me through the window causing us to tumble onto the bed and then the floor with a thud. We laid there for a few seconds and then burst out laughing. We stayed like that for a few minutes until Jacob got up and held out his hand to me. I grabbed it and he pulled me up.

"Jacob?" I heard Billy call from outside Jake's bedroom door. He opened it and we saw Billy sitting in his chair, obviously shocked to see me. I waved awkwardly while he smiled.

"Hello Ava," he said. "I assume you'll be staying over tonight."

"Your assumption would be correct sir."

"And I also assume that your parents know where you are?"

"That would be incorrect," I said. "Although they probably have a general idea of where I am."

Billy sighed. "Alright," he said. "You can stay the night but call you parents and let them know you're here."

I sighed. "Okay. And thank you." I went to reach for my phone but I realized that it might still be in the woods.

"My cell phone is in the woods, can I use yours?" I asked.

"Sure," Billy said and backed up his chair so I could walk through. "You know where it is."

"Thanks." I walked to the living room. I was about to pick up the phone but there was a knock on the door. I walked to the door and opened it; it was Seth.

"Hey," I said confused. "What are you doing here?"

"I found your phone in the woods," he said holding it up and I smiled.

"Thank you so much!" I said as I gave him a big hug and squeezed him tight.

"You're welcome," he said. "Well I better get back out there before Sam has my ass."

"Okay," I said. "Bye and thanks again."

He ruffled my hair. "See ya short stuff." Before I could say anything, he was gone.

I sighed and turned my phone on. I saw that I had 13 missed calls and 5 voicemails. I rolled my eyes and dialed my home number. The phone rang once and I immediately heard yelling.

"AVA! WHERE ARE YOU? MOM AND DAD ARE GOING INSANE!"

"Jace-" I started. Jace was my older brother; my very over protective older brother.

"No! I'm coming to get you, tell me where you are."

"Jace, I don't want to be there. I don't want to be with them. I'll you where I am but you're not coming to get me?"

I heard him sigh. "Why not?"

"Did mom and dad not tell you what they did?"

"Wha- what do you mean did they tell me? What are you talking about? Look mom is in hysterics and dad is… you don't even want to know."

I rolled my eyes. They called him over to the house and they couldn't even tell him why I ran off the way I did.

"They didn't tell you? Seriously?" I was becoming angry again, but I calmed myself so I wouldn't phase in Billy's living room.

"Tell me what? Ava what's wrong? Look, tell me come and get you so we can talk, I'll take you to my house and we don't have back here until you're ready. And Mackenzie wants to see you."

"As much as I want to see my jelly bean I can't because I'm too angry and I don't want her to see me like that."

"Okay just tell me what's wrong."

"Mom and dad arranged for me to get married."

He scoffed. "Married? What the hell?"

"Exactly my words!"

"How the hell could they do that to you?" Do you even know this guy?"

"Apparently I do because his family and our family are friends."

"Tell me where you are," he said. "I'm not gonna take you anywhere but I'll just talk to you."

I sighed. "I'm at Jacob's."

"Okay, I'm coming," that was all he said and then he hung up.

I let out an exhausted sigh and ran my fingers through my hair.

"Is everything okay Ava?" I heard. I looked over and saw Jacob walking toward me with Billy beside him.

"Yeah, everything's okay. Jace is coming over so we can talk."

"What about?"

I sighed. "The marriage."

"What marriage?" Billy asked.

"I thought my parents would have told you," I said, surprised.

"No one told me anything."

I rolled my eyes. So I guess I wasn't the only one my parents kept this a secret from.

"Yeah well, long story short, I'm marrying a werewolf who lives in California."

"California?!" Jacob shouted. I nodded in reply, not wanting to say anything further.

"Is there any reason why they want you to marry him?" Billy asked.

"My parents said that it was because Derek was with some chick that they didn't like and who they thought was a 'possible threat' to their family. Our parents both agreed that when we were older that we'd get married."

"Why choose you?" Jake asked.

"I _really_ wish I knew the answer to that question."

I honestly did want to know why my parents chose me. I felt as if this were something that was fortuitous. How could it be that I was chosen to marry this man? Why couldn't he be with someone else? I really needed to get my ducks in a row.

Soon enough I heard a car pull up in front of the house and I knew that it was Jace. I blew out a gust of air before walking toward the door. I could tell by the way he got out of the car and walked up the ramp that we were going to have a long talk.

Save me, God!

* * *

Hey all! I'm sorry I've been so late with updates and such. I've had school and all of that crap but this is the last marking period and I am just ready to be done. But um I was wondering if anyone of you guys who is really artsy to do me a really big favor.

I love this story so much that I wanted to have an art cover for it so if anyone who is willing to do this for me is a saint.

Matter of fact I'll hold a small contest. Send me your best work and I'll pick one of the best pictures and you'll be recognized in the author's note and I'll name a character after you. Sound good? I hope so.

My email is amberfaulks7

Til next time

TTDH


	3. Chapter 3

Jace had a look of disappointment and confusion, but most of all, sadness. He never did like it when anyone in our family had conflicts. He always tried to be the oracle of the situation and it worked. But for this particular situation, I don't think anything he could say or do would get me to change my mind.

The first thing that he did when he finally got to the porch was take a long, hard look at me. I was the kind of look that made me think that he was going to burn a hole in me. The second thing he did was pull me into a big hug and squeezed me as tight as he could and right then, I almost fell apart in his arms, but I managed to keep it all together, even if it were just for a short time. I couldn't allow myself to break, not when this was the time that I had to be the most strong; stronger than I had ever been.

"What's going on Ava?" he asked, his voice cracked just a little. Just that small question was so ponderous, only because it meant a great deal of things. There were many questions wrapped into the one that it boggled my mind.

"Haven't you heard?" I asked sarcastically. "I'm getting married."

Jace sighed and pressed a small kiss against my temple and let go of me.

"Let's go inside," I said.

"Are you sure Billy and Jacob won't mind?" he asked as if he had never step foot in the Black's residence.

"What do you mean 'do they mind?' of course they don't; you're family."

He shook his head. "Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking."

"Yeah what _were_ you thinking?"

"It's just that everything that I've just learned about over the past couple of hours just kind of knocked me off my rocker y'know?"

I nodded my head. "Yeah I definitely know what you mean."

We walked into the house and I saw that Jacob and Billy were no longer in the living room. I guess they wanted Jace and me to have time alone. And for that I was grateful.

We sat on the couch and I took a deep breath. Before I knew it, I was starting to pour my heart out. I told him everything that had happened over the course of the night. I stopped at some parts of the story, trying not to get upset. Jace gave me small smiles to let me know that he was here for me and that I was going to be okay. I continued to tell the story and Jace nodded at the appropriate moments.

After I finished telling Jace everything that had happened over the course of that night, he opened his mouth to speak. But instead of saying anything, he sighed and shook his head. As I waited for him to speak I started to get lost in some of my own thoughts.

I began to think of how my parents, or any parent however, would think to do this to their progeny; their own flesh and blood. I could still hear my mother's words in my head:

"_It's for the best. We only had your best interest at heart."_

What a stupid thing to say!

"Ava," Jace said calmly. "What are you thinking?"

I rolled my eyes. "I think I've already made it clear about how I felt 10 minutes ago. But if you want me to tell you again, then fine. I don't like the fact that I have to marry some dude that I've never met before; I'm sorry, no I have met him, I was just a toddler at the time. I hate that my, our, parents would do something like this to me. Have they ever stopped to think that it was my prerogative to marry whoever I wanted? Or that I might imprint some day? What happens then huh? I feel like I'm caught between a rock and a hard place and I just want this night to end and I want to pretend that this never happened. That is how I feel."

I wanted to break down and cry so badly. I felt like I was doing some dishonor to my imprint; the one person who I was destined to spend the rest of my life with. I couldn't believe that my parents could be so narrow-minded. Everything just seemed so unfair.

"As much as I hate the idea of being married to Derek, mom and dad do have your best interest in mind…"

"But at what cost?!" I shouted standing up. I started to angrily pace back and forth. I needed to keep calm; otherwise I'd phase in Billy's living room. "My life as I know it is over!"

"No it's not," Jace said standing to his feet, approaching me cautiously.

"Yes it is! I'm starting to go down this tortuous road and all I can see is darkness, pain, despair…"

"Would you stop being so damn stubborn!"

I stopped in my tracks. Jace rarely used this tone of voice, but when he did, you knew that he was starting to get pissed off.

"Look, I don't mean to yell or scream, but whether you like it or not, you're gonna have to marry this guy. Trust me before I got here, I was practically tearing mom and dad a new one for this stunt they've pulled. But we can't turn back now, we're in too deep."

Just then my knees buckled and I fell to the floor with tears streaming down my face. I had realized that there was no getting out of this, no matter how hard I tried. I was going to be married to a man I didn't know, not to mention the fact that he's a lycan. He'd be some much different from me yet, still the same as we both have the supernatural umbrella that hangs over our heads.

Just then, Jace slid down and held me as I cried and while I felt the comfort and safety in my other bother's arms, I still had the feeling that breaking down and crying my eyes out would be the only thing that I could do, I could feel helpless, like a small child. That's how I felt.

Small.

"I don't know what to do Jace," I cried. "I just don't."

"I know honey."

I sat there and cried for what seemed like forever until I felt that I had no more tears left in me to shed. I lifted my head from Jace's shoulder and gave him a smile of gratitude. He stood and held out his hand toward me. As soon as I took it, Jace pulled me up and into another hug. He quickly let go and smiled.

"I hate to leave you in this state but I gotta go. I left Mackenzie with Bob and Janine and I said that I'd be back within the next couple of hours."

I nodded. "I understand, don't worry I'm fine. Give her a hug and kiss for me?"

"Of course."

I walked Jace to the door and he opened it.

"If you ever need me for anything, call me. I don't care what time it is, you call me."

"I will," I promised.

"Take care," he said.

"You too."

He then walked out of the door and into his car, turned it on and backed out of the driveway. I closed the door, feeling like everything was going to be alright with the auxiliary of my family and friends by side to push me forward. No matter what decision I made, they'd always be there and I was forever grateful for that.

I looked around and saw that still neither Jacob nor Billy were in the living room so I took that opportunity to be by myself for a little while. I walked around the living room and looked at all of the pictures and wooden carvings that were on the mantle. Wood carving was something that almost everyone on the res took part of. I remember when Jacob started, we were 12 then. It was also around the time his mother died.

When Sarah, Jacob's mother, got sick, Billy refused to believe that she was seriously ill and that it wasn't something that Calfuray, the crone in our tribe, couldn't fix. But sadly, he was wrong. Billy eventually gave in and took her to the hospital where they learned that Sarah was had cancer and that it was at such an advanced stage that they didn't think that the chemo therapy would help. But they tried and it was every expensive. Being a bourgeoisie the Blacks had always managed a very good lifestyle, doing what they could to get by. I'd be lying if I said that everyone on the res was filthy rich, but with the medical bills coming in, it was damn near impossible to keep food on the table and pay bills. Everyone on the res, including my family, helped in any way that they could.

I practically knew everything that went on in their house because I was a denizen at their residence, helping out in any way that I could. As Sarah got progressively worse, Billy's health started to decline as well. Days before Sarah's death, Billy was declared a paraplegic and was wheelchair bound for the rest of his life. They physical damage was bad, but the emotional toll that it took on the Blacks was even worse.

I remember having to stay over to console Jacob and the twins for almost a week. It was hard seeing Jacob like that.

I shook my head of those horrid thoughts and sat on the couch. I lied down and finally let sleep consume me.

I was awoken by a ray of sunlight that shined on my face. I opened my eyes and realized that I was no longer on the couch, but was on Jacob's bed. I sat up and supported my weight on my elbows, thinking of everything of everything that had gone on last night. I began to think of my parents and began to get a bit equivocal about what would happen next. Would they ship my off to Beacon Hills? Would I ever see my family again? A million questions were going through my mind as I pulled the sheet off, got out of the bed, and walked out of Jake's room.

I made my way into the kitchen where I saw Billy and Jacob sitting at the table. Billy was staring off into space with a cup of coffee in his hands while Jacob was wolfing down a bowl of Frosted Flakes.

"Good morning," I said with a smile. They both snapped their heads in my direction.

"Hey," Jacob said. "Are you alright?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I feel much better now."

"I know that this situation might be a bit of a conundrum but you have to look go home and level with your parents," Billy said. "Talk more with them and try to understand."

"With all due respect Billy there's nothing for me to really understand. I mean how can one fully comprehend their parents are giving her them away to a man I haven't seen since I was 2? This is a substantive situation; one that concerns my life."

I could tell by the look on Jacob's face that he was trying to find something veritable to say, where it would convince me to actually consider marrying Derek. I wanted him to tell me the verisimilitude of how he actually felt about the situation.

I could see that we _definitely_ needed to talk.

* * *

Hi guys! I know that this chapter was short, but I wanted to save all of the good stuff for the next chapter.

I hope that you guys like this one and I'll see you guys next time!

~TTDH


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